Hysteria
by Goddess of Prophecy
Summary: It is the 70th Hunger Games. Annie Cresta has been reaped as a tribute of District 4. The fateful days in the arena will test her endurance and what strength she has kept inside her. And when tragedy strikes, it is to hysteria that she turns, into the midst of her madness and trauma, into her memories and into the deepest, darkest, parts of her mind.


Prologue

"And the female tribute is…Annie Cresta!" the announcer shouts out, and I stare in blank silence as I'm suddenly pushed forwards, onto the stage of District 4.

I can barely believe myself. I never expected it to happen, that I would be reaped. I mean, after all, I didn't have to do tesserae. I didn't have any extra slips that could have taken me to the Games.

And yet it happened all the same.

I don't hear the name of the male tribute being called, but then I notice the tall, dark haired boy making his way to the stage. I don't know his name, but I've seen him in the district before.

Well, I'll soon find out.

And then before I can register in my mind what's going on, the boy and I are getting pushed towards the Capitol Building, and that's when I finally break.

I scream, and scream, and it's not until one of the Peacekeepers presses the barrel of a gun into my back that I finally stop.

Because there's no one, and nothing that will ever save me now.

I stare blankly into the room that I've been put in. It's supposed to be time for visits from the family, but the only person that I have left is my father, who couldn't care less whether I live or die in the Games.

And that's what my choices are at the moment. Live and kill, or die. Neither is particularly appealing, but there's no other choice for me in the world right now.

Someone clears their throat in front of me, and I see him. My father. And the last person on earth that I want to see right now.

"Annie." He says awkwardly, and I know how this must be for him. To say that he might never see me again, and that I might die.

That's when I realize that I might never see this place, this district, in life, ever again. The ocean, the deep blue of the water that I've always loved – I might never see it again. The beaches that I walk across, the soft rocking of a boat that soothes me, I might never feel, never get to sense again.

"What?" I say, more sharply than I mean to, and then I see the hurt flash across his eyes, and for some reason, I feel guilty. And then I ask myself why I should be feeling guilty. This is the man that drove my mother to her death, and never mourned after the death of my brother. He is no more part of my family as the Peacemakers are.

"I suppose that I deserve that." He says, and for a moment, I'm reminded of the times when my mother and brother were still alive, and my father was a completely different man. Fuller of life, and of color. But that is the past.

"Remember who you are. Just remember." My father says, and then, one of the guards comes in and escorts him out of the room.

I realize then, that I still do care about my father. Even if he is only a shallow shell of himself, so different from who he was before, inside, he is still the same person. The same person that I loved, and I suspect, still do.

Nobody else comes, and it's not like I expect anyone to come. There's nobody in my life that would care enough to come for me, to encourage me in this time.

Because nobody expects me to win. Even I don't expect that I'll win.

Finally, the time comes, and then I'm escorted from the room. Onto the train, with the other tribute that is probably already plotting my death. But when he looks up and sees me, our eyes meet, and he offers me his hand. Tentatively, I take it, and he shakes it.

"Oliver Gray." He says, his dark brown eyes meeting my own. "Annie Cresta, if I remember correctly? I don't believe that we've met."

"We haven't." I say, trying to force myself out from under his spell.

Oliver stares off into the space that shows us the outside world. "Well, it seems as if that will soon change."

I say nothing, but inside, I'm agreeing with him.


End file.
